


Album [Part One]

by ebbj9891



Series: In Quest Of Something [43]
Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: Aging, Birthday Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-03
Updated: 2015-04-03
Packaged: 2018-03-21 01:10:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3671850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ebbj9891/pseuds/ebbj9891
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brian wants nothing to do with his thirty-eighth birthday. He'd rather that the day be ignored and forgotten. Justin, however, has other plans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Album [Part One]

**Author's Note:**

> This story will ultimately have two parts - I've decided to post them separately as they're set quite far apart. The second part will be set roughly twenty years later and will work towards concluding this series.

"Brian! Come on, get out of bed! Your breakfast is getting cold!"

With a miserable groan, Brian heaves himself out of bed. He'd like very much to burrow under the blankets and stay there forever, but this is the fifth time Justin has called for him. He can't really ignore him any longer.

Brian goes to grab his robe and finds a gift bag in its place. Whilst glaring at it, he calls out sullenly, "What did I tell you about presents?"

"I can't recall," Justin calls back cheekily.

After rolling his eyes, Brian recommences glaring at the offending gift bag. He's torn between not wanting to open it lest he be forced to officially acknowledge his birthday, or opening it in the hopes that it might act as a form of compensation on this dark and gloomy day.

He eventually opts for the latter. After all, Justin will probably force him to open it sooner or later. Brian grabs the bag and rifles through the layers of tissue paper. 

"Come on!"

"I'm opening your gift," Brian yells back. "You impatient little shit."

He stubbornly refuses to smile as he comes across the gift enclosed. It's a black silk robe that's almost impossibly soft and delicate. Brian slips into it with a scowl and then goes to brush his teeth. Their night last night was thrillingly wild, but now he's stuck with the after effects: a throbbing headache, sore muscles, and a sticky mouth with a bitter taste to it.

While he's brushing his teeth, Brian ignores the mirror steadfastly. Instead, he focuses on admiring the robe. It's utterly beautiful. Momentarily, he finds himself worrying about the cost, but then he comes to his senses. The days of Justin being dirt-poor are long gone. Plus, Brian has some vague memory of good news from last night - something about securing another solo show. Unable to stop himself this time, he smiles around his mouthful of toothpaste. It wasn't long ago that Justin was in the midst of another spell of doubt about his career; now he's thriving again, just like Brian had assured him he would. As Brian spits into the sink and rinses his mouth out, his sense of pride is joined by a hint of smugness. He does so love being proven right.

"Brian! Hurry the fuck up!"

"Coming,  _dear,"_ Brian calls mockingly. He combs his hair back with his hand and then heads towards the kitchen.

As he walks into the room, he takes in the sight of everything set up perfectly - just as he expected it would be. Justin possesses a tremendous talent for transforming Brian's birthday from a day of despair to a spectacular celebration. There are no balloons or streamers, no birthday cards or banners; it's all very simple. Breakfast is laid out atop the island in an indulgent spread of delectable looking treats: thick slabs of French toast glistening with syrup, stacks of golden-brown waffles, slices of mango tossed with figs and berries... it all looks mouth-wateringly good. Then, next to the pot of coffee and jug of guava juice, is a stack of presents. Brian eyes the stack with intrigue. He has tried to convince Justin that presents are unnecessary, but Justin seems hellbent on splashing cash and spoiling him rotten.

After a moment of deliberation, Brian decides to go with it. He goes and wraps himself around Justin, who's hunting through the fridge for something, and murmurs, "You've outdone yourself, Sunshine."

Justin turns around and grins at him. "Happy birthday."

"Ugh." Brian frowns at him and slinks back to the island. He slumps down on one of the stools and glares at Justin. "What did I tell you about saying that?"

"I can't recall," Justin lies, laughing. "Come on, what am I supposed to say?"

"Nothing." Brian spots a bottle of water and a couple of aspirin next to his plate. He practically inhales the pills and washes them down with haste. He needs to make short work of this ghastly headache, that's for fucking sure. "And if you're really hellbent on saying something about this shitty day, at least aim for originality."

"Right," Justin snorts, "Because 'happy birthday' is way too predictable and run-of-the-mill."

Brian eyes him moodily and mutters, "Exactly."

Justin smiles at him. "Okay, I redact my 'happy birthday'. Let's try something else."

He approaches Brian and gathers him into a big hug. As Brian sinks into it, Justin presses their cheeks together. He seems to hesitate for a moment, but after drawing in a slightly trembling breath, he murmurs in Brian's ear, "I love you more today than I ever have before and I'm really glad that we're here together right now."

Brian closes his eyes and attunes himself to the warmth of Justin's embrace and the beat of his heart. He's forcibly dragged back eight years into the past, when Justin's heartbeat was a mere line on a screen, a soft  _beep beep beep_ that echoed through Brian's mind incessantly. The line on the screen is no more. The beeping has long since faded. Now Justin's heartbeat is thumping in time with his own, pressed right up against him, so that he can feel its lively rhythm.

Justin kisses his cheek and whispers, "There, how was that?"

"Not bad," Brian says, squeezing him. "Not bad at all."

Justin pulls back and grins at him. "Thanks for the glowing appraisal. Now, have some breakfast. You'll need your energy. We have a very... _intense_ day ahead of us." _  
_

That piques Brian's interest. "We do?"

Smirking, Justin confirms, "Yup. It is your thir-"

"Don't say the number," Brian snaps, grimacing. "Don't even think it."

A vaguely uncomfortable hush falls over the room. Justin looks away and starts heaping his plate with food. Brian watches him carefully, hoping that his harsh response wasn't too hurtful. He reaches across the island and thumbs Justin's wrist gently. "Wait until you hit thirty-eight. Then you'll understand."

Justin shrugs. "I don't think I'll mind."

"You might." Brian smirks at him and taunts, "And I'll have a hell of a good time with it."

"So when I hit thirty-eight and start angsting about my lost youth, your plan is to point and laugh?" Justin smiles and shakes his head. "Bullshit. You wouldn't dare."

"Have you met me?" Brian grins at him and pulls his hand away before Justin can smack it.

"Eat your goddamned breakfast," Justin says, laughing and shaking his head.

Brian practically inhales the food in front of him in a desperate attempt to source a cure for his hangover. It works wonders. With Justin's salacious promise in mind, he doesn't hesitate to help himself to seconds. 

Once both of their plates are cleaned, Justin jumps up and goes to grab the stack of presents. Brian regards them warily and protests, "You didn't have to."

"I wanted to." Justin sifts through the stack and pulls out one from the middle. It's wrapped in dark blue tissue paper with a silver ribbon. As Justin hands it over with a shy smile, he explains, "You can open the rest throughout the day. I thought it would be nice to spread them out. But this one... I want you to have this one now."

"Come here," Brian urges. Justin grins and comes to sit in his lap. Brian pulls him close and kisses him, then takes the present and tears through the delicate blue paper. 

Inside are two elegant looking photo albums. They're both bound in black leather and filled with crisp white pages. Brian opens the first and gazes upon the first page, where Justin has written:  _With love._ That's all. Brian glances at him and teases, "No 'treasured memories'?" _  
_

Justin laughs and elbows him. "Shut it."

Brian flicks to the next page and freezes. On one side of the album is a photo of him and Gus, when Gus was only a newborn. On the other side is a sketch focusing on a single detail: Gus' tiny little fingers wrapped around Brian's thumb in a tight grasp.

Suddenly, it's ever so slightly hard to breathe.

Brian turns to the next page and finds the same: Gus at age one, Brian kissing his forehead - one of Emmett's photos, it would seem. On the opposite page, Justin has sketched Brian's lips pressed to Gus' brow. The tenderness emanating from the sketch makes Brian's heart twist in his chest.

The following pages follow suit: Gus from age two to age seven, Brian by his side, immortalised as a photo and then re-created as a sketch that picks up on some important detail. Like the smile on Gus' face after his first day of school, or the laughter in Brian's eyes during Gus' eighth birthday party.

"Do you like it?" Justin asks, with the slightest dash of nervousness flung through the question.

"I love it," Brian responds instantly. He hugs Justin close and confides softly, "I love  _you."_

He's rewarded with the most dazzling of smiles. It's almost a shame to cover it with a kiss, but Brian's craving is too dear to deny. He brings their mouths together in a short but sweet kiss. Then he returns to looking at the album and notes, "Half of it's empty."

"Exactly," Justin says, smiling fondly. "Plenty of pages to fill yet."

The hope and promise lacing Justin's words brings a smile to Brian's face. He closes the album and touches its supple leather cover delicately. "I'll keep it somewhere safe."

As he sets the first album aside so that he can look at the second, Brian notices a faint blush blooming on Justin's face. He smiles and kisses Justin's cheek gently, then opens the second album. On the very first page, Justin has written:  _To us._ Intrigued, Brian turns to the next page. It's blank. So are all the ones following. Brian peers at Justin curiously. "Were you slacking off with this one, or...?"

Justin laughs and pokes him. "No. I started working on it, but I didn't like any of the photos of us that I could find. Most of them were taken by other people - I had to scrounge up stuff from Daph, Em, mom, and Michael. Not that they're not great... I just thought this album could be ours and ours alone. I want it to be photos that we take."

Justin's somewhat misguided use of 'we' makes Brian snort. Amused, he points out, "I'm not great with family photos."

"You're crap with family photos, Brian," Justin says with an evil little snicker. Though he's not wrong, Brian smacks his ass nonetheless, making Justin yelp. "Save that for later, will you?"

"Oh, I will," Brian promises, grinning smugly at Justin. 

"Anyway," Justin laughs, "You don't have to turn into some snap-happy sentimentalist. But maybe every so often, we could think about adding a photo to the album. One that we take. One that's just ours."

In the sternest voice he can muster, Brian warns, "We're not getting couples portraits."

"Ew, no!" Justin gags. "Gross. If I ever suggest couples portraits, take me to the E.R. and have me checked for head trauma, for fuck's sake."

Brian regards the album contemplatively. "Can these photos be-"

"-explicit? _Risqué?"_ Justin guesses, whilst grinning and nodding eagerly. "Yes. Absolutely. I mean, if it's going to be ours..."

"Okay," Brian says, nodding in increasingly eager agreement. "I can get on board with this."

"Good." Justin beams at him and kisses his cheek. "Wanna get started?"

Brian glances down at the photo album and glides his hands over the leather cover. He scans the blank pages and considers all of the ways in which they could be filled. He smiles at the thought, then sets the album aside and pulls Justin in for one more kiss before agreeing, "Let's."

 **The End**  

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading - I hope you enjoyed it! Feedback is always greatly appreciated :)
> 
> My updates may be a little less frequent for the next month, maybe longer. Real life is getting a bit crazy and I'll be increasingly short on time to write. I'm hoping that this won't drag on for too long as I have lots of fics to post, including the final two chapters to _Reunions_. 
> 
> Since I want to make sure that writing remains a part of my life, I've started a writing blog which will focus on my FF/OF. If anyone is interested it's here: http://elissabens.tumblr.com. I feel I ought to say a big thank you to Artless who gave me the idea to start this blog! :) Also a big thank you to all of my readers for being so encouraging as I've been writing this series - I still have so many ideas for it, so I will definitely return to it as soon as I can.


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